Richard Cooper joins Buildbase BMW

Richard Cooper has re-signed with the Buildbase BMW team ahead of the 2016 MCE British Superbike season.

The 32-year-old joined the team midway through last season after leaving Anvil Hire Tag Kawasaki and despite his season being cut short due to injury, still managed to finish eighth overall.

2015 was only his second season in the championship but Cooper showed plenty of potential and is now looking forward to competing on the BMW.

Cooper said: “It’s great to be staying on with the Buildbase BMW team. I’m looking forward to completing a full season with them as I only joined half way through last year.

“We made great progress in the time we had together in 2015 and I’m confident we can take this into the upcoming season. As soon as I came back to the team I felt at home immediately so sticking with them for 2016 seemed natural.”

The 2011 National Superstock champion enjoyed two podium finishes last season – both at Brands Hatch – and constantly found himself battling inside the top 10.

A thrilled team manager, Steve Hicken said: “I’m really pleased to have secured Coops to continue with the team next year. He showed a lot of promise in 2016, he’s shown he’s capable of podiums if not more so we’ll be looking to get behind him and taking it to the next level this year.”

Cooper will line-up alongside Lee Jackson, who remains with the team for a second consecutive season. The 2012 National Superstock 600 champion ended last season strongly with a fifth and sixth place finish at Brands Hatch.

The team have also announced that they will return to the National Superstock 1000 Championship this year with former Team WD40 Kawasaki rider, Taylor Mackenzie.

Hicken added: “This is something I’m really pleased about. I think he’ll be really suited to the BMW and he’s certainly talented enough to run at the front and challenge for the title.”